Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses. Share this article with your facebook friends

 

6 Jordanian Soldiers Killed, 14 Wounded in a Car Bombing Attack

June 22, 2016 

 

Funeral of Jordanian soldiers killed in a car bombing attack, on June 21, 2016

 

Jordan to respond with iron fist to threat, King says, as 6 troops killed in border terror attack

By Jordan Times - Jun 22,2016 - Last updated at Jun 22,2016

AMMAN —

His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF), on Tuesday stressed that “Jordan will respond with an iron fist to assaults or any attempts to tamper with the Kingdom's internal or border security”.

The King stressed that Jordan will "always remain strong, thanks to the high morale of JAF and security agencies' personnel”, according to a Royal Court statement.

The Supreme Commander made these remarks as he chaired a meeting at JAF headquarters, bringing together high-ranking civil and military officials, to follow up on the details of the terrorist act, which targeted a forward military post for serving Syrian refugees on the northeastern front. 

Jordanians from across the board reacted with anger and vows of further determination to combat terrorism, while world leaders expressed solidarity with Jordan. 

Six Jordanian troops were killed and 14 others injured on Tuesday when a booby-trapped car struck a forward military post at the no man's land at the borders between Syria and Jordan, JAF said in a statement.

The fallen men include four Border Guard members, a member of the Civil Defence Department and a member of the Public Security Department (PSD), while out of the total 14 who were injured 9 are members of PSD.

His Majesty expressed his pride in the “heroic acts and sacrifices of JAF and security personnel who defend the country with valour that cannot be undermined by the forces of darkness and evil”.

“Jordan, with the unity and solidarity of its people, will be, as always, a hard target for all cowardly attempts that seek to disturb its security and stability,” the King said, “expressing his condolences for the loss of JAF and security personnel who died in the criminal act,” the statement added.

The King added: “Such heinous terrorist acts will only make us more determined to carry on with our fight against terrorism and its groups who plotted in the dark against the men who protect the country and its borders.” 

He wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff and King’s Military Adviser Gen. Mashal Al Zaben made a detailed presentation on the terrorist act and methods of dealing with it.

King Abdullah stressed that Jordan will continue its role in fighting “criminal groups and their dark ideologies”, as well as defending the true image of Islam and its tolerant teachings, the statement added.  

Later in the day, a JAF statement, the fourth in a string of statements since the dawn incident, said Zaben issued an order declaring the northern and northeastern border areas sealed military zones.

“Any moving vehicle or person within the said areas will be dealt with as a hostile threat, with all firmness and no leniency.” 

The army’s third statement said that the booby-trapped vehicle came from the camp, penetrated through a gap in the sand barricade used to deliver relief aid and speeded towards the forward post where the driver blew up the car.

The attack resulted in the death of Corporal Noureddine Shihadeh, Corporal Ahmad Sbeihi, Lance Corporal Bilal Zu’bi and Private Khader Hajji from JAF, in addition to Public Security Department’s (PSD) officer, Odai Khawaldeh and the Civil Defence Department’s (CDD) Sergeant Anas Asmar, according to the JAF statement.

The source identified the injured army personnel as: Lance Corporal Mahmoud Ibrahim, Private Mohammad Salah Mohammad, Private Yazan Salem and Private Seifeddine Mustafa.

The wounded police officers are: Sergeant Mohammad Ramthan, Sergeant Ziad Khalil and officers Mohammad Awwad, Muein Farhan, Osama Migbel, Hatem Rweished, Imad Aqil, Ayed Ali and Abedrabbo Qasseem.

Senior CDD and PSD officers on Tuesday attended the funerals of CDD Sergeant Asmar and police officer Khawaldeh in Irbid and Tafileh, respectively, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

http://jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-respond-iron-fist-threat-king-says-6-troops-killed-border-terror-attack

6 troops killed, 14 injured in car bomb attack on Syria border

By Mohammad Ghazal - Jun 21,2016 - Last updated at Jun 21,2016

 425  2 googleplus3  1  0

The terrorist attack Tuesday targeted a forward post dedicated to assisting Syrian refugees (File photo)

AMMAN – Six Jordanian troops were killed and 14 others injured  Tuesday when a booby-trapped car struck a forward military post at the no man's land at the borders between Syria and Jordan, the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army said Tuesday.

A car bomb struck the military post dedicated for serving and helping Syrian refugees at the area struck at 5:30am local time, the army said in a statement on its official Facebook page.

Four border guard members, a member of the Civil Defence Department and another from the Public Security Department were killed in the terrorist attack, the army said Tuesday.

Of the total 14 who were injured, 9 are members of the Public Security Department, the army said.

"Such a cowardly act will only make the Jordan Armed Forces and the security bodies more resolute to uproot terrorism and terrorists and their dark ideologies regardless of their motives for such criminal acts," the army said in the statement.

Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani called on media outlets to exercise accuracy when publishing any details related to the terrorist attack as well as when it comes to the names of the martyrs.

The minister urged media to get information from official channels.

***

Suicide attacker kills six Jordanian troops at Syria border

Tue Jun 21, 2016 6:16pm EDT

Six Jordanian border guards were killed by a suicide bomber who drove a car at speed across the border from Syria and rammed it into a military post on Tuesday, security officials said.

The explosives-laden vehicle blew up a few hundred meters from a camp for Syrian refugees in a remote, desolate area where the borders of Iraq, Syria and Jordan meet, a Jordanian army statement said.

The southeastern desert area is close to where Islamic State militants are known to operate, according to a security source who requested anonymity. The source said the attack appeared to be a well-planned military operation. No group has claimed responsibility.

The army said a number of other vehicles used in the attack at around 5:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) were destroyed and that 14 other people were wounded. The suicide bomber drove out from behind a berm and dodged gunfire to reach the military post, it added.

It was the first such assault targeting Jordan from Syria since Syria's descent into conflict in 2011 and followed an attack on June 6 on a security office near the Jordanian capital Amman in which five people, including three Jordanian intelligence officers, were killed.

The incidents have jolted the Arab kingdom, which has been relatively unscathed by the instability that has swept the Arab world since 2011, including the expansion of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

In a rare move, the Jordanian army's chief of staff declared the northern and northeastern border strip with Syria a closed military zone, an order that went into effect immediately.

"Any vehicle and personnel movement within these areas that move without prior coordination will be treated as enemy targets and dealt with firmly and without leniency," the army statement said.

International relief workers said the Jordanian authorities had also suspended all humanitarian aid to the area and that this could put the lives of refugees at risk.

U.N. agencies responsible for the well-being of thousands of refugees did not comment on the drastic move which Western aid workers said penalized thousands of refugees, almost half of them women and children who have been stranded on the border strip for months.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Joudeh confirmed deliveries of aid to the border areas had been halted until a safer area was found.

He told state media the incident vindicated Amman's previous security warnings about the presence of hardline extremists within the camp.

"There is a large concentration of people along this border and a big infiltration of elements from Daesh terrorists who are present heavily," Joudeh said, using the Arabic derogatory term for Islamic State.

Jordan's King Abdullah said the perpetrators would not go unpunished and that his security forces would deal with "an iron fist" with any group that sought to harm the country's security or borders, a palace statement said.

Jordan is a staunch ally of the United States and is taking part in the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State in Syria, where the jihadist group still controls large areas of territory including much of the east.

Jordan has kept tight control of its frontier with Syria since the outbreak of the war in its neighbor.

Washington condemned the deadly attack as a "cowardly terrorist act" and said it would continue "unwavering support" for the Jordanian army, a statement from the U.S. embassy said.

Since the Syria conflict began, Washington has spent tens of millions of dollars to help Amman set up an elaborate surveillance system known as the Border Security Programme to stem infiltration by militants from Syria and Iraq.

The Rakban crossing targeted on Tuesday is a military zone far from any inhabited area, and includes a three-km (two-mile) stretch of berms built a decade ago to combat smuggling. The border is heavily guarded by patrols and drones.

U.S. Patriot missiles are stationed in the kingdom, however, and the U.S. army has hundreds of trainers in the country.

It is the only area where Jordan still receives Syrian refugees, some 50,000 of whom are stranded in Rakban refugee camp in a de facto no-man's land some 330 km (200 miles) northeast of Amman.

REFUGEES STRAIN KINGDOM

The camp's population has grown from several thousand to over 50,000 people since last year as the fighting in Syria intensified, relief workers say.

Jordan has been a big beneficiary of foreign aid because of its efforts to help refugees but has drawn criticism from Western allies and aid agencies over the humanitarian situation at Rakban where conditions have caused several deaths among refugees lacking sufficient medical care, diplomats say.

Earlier waves of Syrian refugees had an easier time, with some walking just a few hundred meters to cross into Jordan. Jordan sealed those border crossings in 2013.

The United Nations refugee agency said late last year Jordan should accept the new wave of refugees -- their numbers have risen, aid officials say, since Russia started air strikes last September -- and move them to established camps closer to Amman.

Jordan, which has already accepted more than 600,000 U.N.-registered Syrian refugees, is resisting. It says Islamic State militants may have infiltrated their ranks as most of them come from Islamic State-held areas in central and eastern Syria, and has allowed only a trickle of refugees, mostly women and children, in recent months.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Jonathan Oatis)

***

Share this article with your facebook friends